Feed aggregator

The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: Washington, DC - Today, President Barack Obama sent to Congress his Fiscal Year 2014 budget request for the Federal Government, which includes $385.8 million for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The requested amount for NARA is a slight decrease from the FY 2012 funding level of $391.5 million. NARA's FY 2013 budget is approximately $371 million, including sequestration cuts. "Our budget is a responsible plan that supports critical agency priorities while continuing to reduce our overall spending levels. NARA's budget request reflects difficult decisions that... Dick Eastman

The bureaucrats won't give up! Pressure is mounting to lock up access to the Master Death File (often referred to as the DMF), this time from the White House. This is despite the fact that the SSDI helps PREVENT identity theft! I do notice, however, that the new document from the White House does admit, "Although some DMF users need immediate access to the DMF for fraud prevention purposes..." (See my earlier article about the SSDI and identity theft at http://goo.gl/IpGr1.) You can read about the latest threat and watch a video on NBC News at http://goo.gl/3yu7I. The actual document... Dick Eastman

Grant Aylesworth has begun a project, in partnership with the archaeological services unit of the Government of New Brunswick, reading “illegible” tombstones from the 1700s using 3D software technology. Aylesworth, an anthropology professor at Mount Allison University, and the team that he heads has been able to read previously illegible inscriptions on 250-year-old tombstones using 3D software models derived from photos taken with a regular digital camera. “This new technology is enabling us to digitally preserve the old tombstones, important for many researchers, most notably historians and genealogists. More importantly, this has allowed us to bring back the name of... Dick Eastman

I know life was tough in "the good ol' days," but an article by Sara C Nelson shows just how tough it was. Would you want to have an occupation of toad doctor? Even worse, how about being leech bait? Those occupations were found on family history website Genes Reunited. You can read about these and more at http://goo.gl/VYK75. Dick Eastman

Every spring during the Qingming Festival, people in China honor their ancestors by cleaning and repairing their tombstones. Offerings are also made to the dead, typically consisting of food and drink, but because Chinese culture dictates that deceased relatives will need money and other material goods in the after life, many will also burn fake money or paper replicas of homes and cars as offerings. During this year’s Qingming Festival, fake Apple products made out of paper and cardboard were one of the biggest hits. One man, who makes cardboard replicas of luxury products like cars and houses, added Apple... Dick Eastman

US $1.42 (0 Bid)
End Date: Tuesday Apr-16-2013 18:44:11 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $2.42
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

I broke my eyeglasses this morning. While loading a toolbox into the back of the car, my eyeglasses slipped off my face and landed on the concrete driveway. One lens shattered. Luckily, I also have prescription sunglasses that happened to be in the front seat console of the auto. I put the sunglasses on and had full vision, but I wouldn't want to wear sunglasses around the house, especially at night. I should also mention that I am in Florida, but I purchased the glasses a bit more than a year ago from a big-name optical franchise in Massachusetts. I... Dick Eastman

US $10.00 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Apr-10-2013 12:21:29 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

FamilySearch recently opened full access to everyone in the new Family Tree. (See my earlier article at http://goo.gl/Yy2OA.) Family Tree is a free, single, large database available at www.FamilySearch.org that everyone can see and can also enter new data or can correct previously-entered data that contains errors. You can see family tree information entered by others, even those who might be your distant cousins. You can also enter information about your family tree manually, using a web browser. However, the FamilySearch programmers also created an API (application programming interface) so that other programs could communicate directly with the FamilySearch Family... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the folks at Findmypast.com.au: Thousands of new military records added to mark Anzac Day 9 April 2013 – With Anzac Day fast approaching, Australians and New Zealanders are preparing to reflect on the heroic efforts of their ancestors. To commemorate this important event, leading family history site, findmypast.com.au, has just launched its inaugural Findmypast Anzac Memory Bank and has also added thousands of new military records to its collection. Plus, to commemorate Anzac Day the entire military collection (including the newly released records below) will be available free of charge in the week leading... Dick Eastman

US $4.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Monday Apr-15-2013 15:30:58 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch: FamilySearch has added 2.1 million indexed records and images this week from BillionGraves, Canada, Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 815,732 index record and images from the BillionGraves Index collection, and the 753,021 images from the U.S., Washington, County Records, 1856-2009, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org. Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from... Dick Eastman

US $1.42 (0 Bid)
End Date: Monday Apr-15-2013 10:14:11 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $2.42
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

I have written several times about the handheld Magic Wand scanner made by VuPoint. (Past articles may be found by starting at http://goo.gl/GB9Co.) The articles I have written have described the original scanner that stores data on a microSD memory card. After making the scans, you can copy the images to your computer by either connecting a USB cable from the scanner to the computer or by removing the memory card and inserting it into your Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Chromebook computer (a microSD adapter may be required if your computer does not already have a microSD socket). You can... Dick Eastman

I wrote in an earlier article at http://goo.gl/Zkx20 that VuPoint has released a new version of their popular Magic Wand handheld scanner that now includes wireless wi-fi connectivity. However, owners of the Flip-Pal handheld scanner shouldn't feel left out; the Flip-Pal has always been able to use wi-fi networking if the owner purchases a suitable memory card. SanDisk has made a series of Eye-Fi memory cards for years. These are SD cards that are intended to be installed in a digital camera. The Eye-Fi card allows you to wirelessly transfer photos and videos from your camera to a computer, tablet,... Dick Eastman

The following announcement was written by the Federation of Genealogical Societies: April 8, 2013 – Genealogy bloggers, societies, writers and editors are invited to participate in the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2013 Conference by becoming FGS 2013 Ambassadors. Ambassadors help to spread information about the FGS 2013 Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 21-24, through social media to their friends, colleagues, and everyone interested in genealogy. FGS 2013 Ambassadors will be: Participating in monthly blogging prompts. Writing about the conference on their blog. Using the hashtag #FGS2013 on Twitter. Mentioning FGS 2013 on Facebook, Google Plus, and other social networks.... Dick Eastman

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. Experienced genealogists are always aware that they must verify information by looking at original documents or a microfilm or digital image of an original document. We should know better than to believe a statement on a web site, in a genealogy book, or a verbal statement from Aunt Tilley about the "facts" of our family trees. However, what is the definition of an "original document?" Let's take one well-known claim of an original document that isn't really accurate: the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Almost all American... Dick Eastman

A report at http://goo.gl/ukcHB from the Radicati Group, a market research firm, found that in 2011, there were 3.1 billion active e-mail accounts in the world. Consumer email accounts represent 75% of worldwide mailboxes, while corporate email accounts represent 25% of worldwide mailboxes. The same report states that the average email user receives 72 email messages per day (corporate users tend to receive more, consumers typically receive less). That daily number averages 14 spam messages so that means the average email user receives 58 legitimate email messages per day. A research report at http://goo.gl/aiBU4, issued about a year ago by... Dick Eastman

Bob Vornlocker sent an article two years ago describing problems and a potential solution when searching for surnames in the various online databases. Bob kindly gave me permission to re-publish the article in this newsletter at http://goo.gl/JTzEr. Bob has now followed that with an update and again has offered his new article to newsletter readers here. Bob writes that if you "Couple wildcards with Boolean searches, particularly the proximity or NEAR operand and I am a very happy Fachenlueger." (Translation of that last word is left to the reader.) To read all of Bob's excellent words about the use of... Dick Eastman

A genealogy summer school will offer a complete course in the latest Irish genealogy research. All aspects of Irish genealogy are covered by a series of presentations and "hands on" workshops given by a selection of Ireland’s leading genealogical lecturers and experts. Presenters include: Eileen M. Ó Dúill, CG; Sean O’Dúill; Dr. Paul MacCotter; Fiona Fitzsimons; Brian Donovan; Lorna Moloney; Dr Sarah Anne Buckley; Dave Enright; Dr Matthew Potter; Nicola Morris; Kenneth Nicholls; and Dr David Butler. In addition to classroom instruction, a number of trips are offered to sites and locations of significance, including Fota House, the Queenstown Experience... Dick Eastman